I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

Chapter 123

About a month had passed since the day Ethan suddenly asked if he could touch my chest.

Nothing particularly special happened during that month. Ethan didn’t seem to be demanding anything more after touching my chest once.

Rather, it seemed like he had built up some mental fortitude from that request, as he had already managed to win two matches against Harold during the following month of classes.

The Top 4 students have a chance to duel with Harold once a week during class. This means he won two out of four duels. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Of course, Harold isn’t in his best condition as he’s dueling not just Ethan but other students as well, but the same goes for Ethan, who’s crossing swords with other top students.

I decided to acknowledge Ethan’s two wins without nitpicking. There was no point in creating complicated exceptions that would only tire us both out.

...The problem was that the next time Ethan won another match, his sword-wielding hands would once again grasp my chest.

Well, by now, I didn’t find it particularly shameful for Ethan to touch my body. Since I had decided not to hide my reactions to a man’s touch, there was no need to feel embarrassed either!

Other than that, the only notable events were the commotion caused by Harold’s temporary appointment as a professor, and the protagonist uncovering the corruption of one of the professors in the Technical Department, “saving” one of the heroines – changing the hot topic of the academy at least twice.

Thanks to these high-profile rumors, the incident of Ethan and I getting involved in a duel in front of the auditorium on the first day of school had more or less died down.

While I couldn’t say we were close, I had somewhat become acquainted with the freshmen of the Magic Department. At most, we were just grouping together for joint classes.

“Goodbye, Lilith!”

“See you tomorrow, Lilith!”

“Yes, please be careful on your way home, everyone.”

...Well, since it was the Magic Department, the connections I made there meant they were all noble young ladies. All of my fellow students in the department had a peculiarly ladylike way of speaking.

Of course, there weren’t many high-ranking noble ladies like duchesses or margraves even in this academy, so most of the students I associated with were daughters of viscounts or barons.@@@@

Dealing with real noble ladies was tiring in many ways, so it was better for me to associate with people of this level. After all, the higher the rank of nobility, the higher their pride and vanity tend to be.

...And recently, one such real noble lady had been consistently sticking to me.

Moreover, it was a character who shouldn’t have even appeared in the main story, let alone enrolled in the academy in the original work.

“Ah, Lilith~! Over here, over here~!”

“......”

The young lady of the August family drew attention by calling my name loudly at the Central Plaza.

Naturally, my face heated up as she called my name so loudly in a place already crowded with people.

‘...Drawing attention with her voice in crowded places, she’s just like her younger brother.’

I couldn’t understand with my meager intellect why the eldest daughter of a Margrave family had taken an interest in me and started sticking around. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Of course, just because she called me by a familiar name didn’t actually change the hierarchy of our social status, so I still maintained proper etiquette when dealing with Lizzy.

“You don’t need to call out to me so loudly, Lady August. I can hear you.”

“I told you, you can call me Lizzy, Lilith.”

“...No, as a mere honorary viscount’s daughter, I can’t address the young lady of the August Margrave family by her first name.”

“I don’t mind, though?”

I do. I DO mind.

This perceptive woman probably knew I was deliberately using honorifics to keep my distance and was likely trying to get me to use informal terms to find some weakness.

Considering how she had tried to pick a fight with me, thinking I was a low-ranking noble lady, only to end up prostrating herself when Ethan appeared, she was undoubtedly a woman with incredibly sharp instincts.

Even now, she was probably pretending to be friendly with me while secretly trying to create a connection with Ethan.

However, for the current Lilith, even this +2 was something she desperately needed. After all, once I finish reading this, Lilith’s current Luck of 2 would double.

My current hit rate of 4-5% would also jump to 9-10%, more than doubling the original.

...Of course, it was still pathetic that even after increasing, it would barely reach double digits.

‘If I can just endure this semester somehow, it should be manageable from the next semester.’

After taking all the Luck-related courses I’m enrolled in this semester, I should be able to raise it to about 10, and by then, I could somehow increase the hit rate of my offensive magic to 25%.

If I incorporated triple casting, it would be possible to disguise it as a 50% hit rate, at least on the surface. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

It was painful to spend 2 gold coins, which was more than half of my monthly salary, on one book, but in my current situation, I would be fortunate if I could buy +1 Luck for 1 gold coin.

‘It’s actually cheaper to raise it now. If I try to buy it after leveling up more, it won’t be as cost-effective then.’

With that thought, I confidently walked towards the counter of the underground general store, but...

...the words that came out of the shopkeeper’s mouth after looking over my face and body once made me feel dizzy for a moment.

“Ten gold coins.”

“...Pardon?”

“Did you mishear? I said ten gold coins.”

“......”

No, damn it. There’s a limit to ripping people off.

I came knowing full well it was worth two gold coins, and you inflate it five times?

I was on the verge of spitting out the same words, but fortunately, my reason barely suppressed the curse that was about to burst out.

Anyway, I was the one who needed this book, so I had to try to negotiate with the shopkeeper who had proposed ten gold coins.

“Is, is this book really that expensive...? It doesn’t look that expensive from the outside...”

“If you think so, you don’t have to buy it. There are plenty of people who buy from our store besides you anyway.”

“Could, could you lower the price a little...? I don’t have much money on hand...”

“Twenty.”

“...Pardon?”

“You’re not even a man; where do you get off acting cute? I won’t sell it to you for less than twenty, so if you have complaints, don’t buy it and leave.”

“......”

No, damn it. Fuck this crazy woman, really.

Just as I was conflicted over what to do with the shopkeeper who seemed ready to punch me in the face just for speaking a few words, suddenly, a familiar-looking pair entered the underground general store. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

As soon as I heard their voices and the content of their conversation, I could immediately identify who the pair was.

“Sister, why are we coming to this underground general store? Isn’t there a general store for academy students on the first floor of the Student Center?”

“Obviously, we’re here to get something we can’t find there, right? Use your brain a little, Caraham.”

“Then why did you bring me along...”

“It’s easier to negotiate prices when you’re here. Now stop talking and just follow me... Huh?”

The siblings of the August family came down the stairs from the ground floor to the underground.

Running into these two familiar faces by chance was the starting point of how I came to associate with Lizzy.